While my kids have (thankfully) seemed quite fulfilled and happy-go-lucky during this whole COVID-19 pandemic (while many adults, or at least I, have had a harder time coping), I wonder a lot about how they will remember this time (or if they will remember it at all), or how this "quarantine time" will affect all children's future psychological development and relationships.
I have been stopped in my tracks a few times by some of the things my kids say, matter-of-factly and without much emotion, like "No, mom, we're not allowed to blow bubbles at school [childcare] due to CORONAVIRUS" or "When Coronavirus is over, can we....?" What's so refreshing about these young ones is that they're just living in the present-- not the past nor the future, and I so wish I could more easily adopt their very innocent perspective rather than be weighed down by the grief, anger, and disappointment about the state of things that has plagued me (and many other adults) to date!
Art is an expression of our feelings, and how we see the world. Earlier this week, Niall (one month shy of three) was playing independently at the dining room table with a Paw Patrol coloring book and a sheet of stickers, and showed me his "drawing." (None of us actually watch or know anything about Paw Patrol).
I froze, and my heart stopped for about a minute.
Like so many things have this year, looking at his decorated workbook sheet with all the dogs wearing masks over their mouths made me viscerally sad. I wonder if my young toddler will have any memories of the "days before" we all wore facial coverings, as our current masked accessorizing is what he knows to be "normal" (or has known to be normal for close to a year). Art is an expression of our feelings, and how we see the world. All the faces he sees (outside our own home) are masked.
Kelvin had a different (more positive) perspective. He asked Niall, "Why are all the characters wearing masks?" and our son responded with something along the lines of "So they can keep the germs out!" Kelvin found it hopeful, and reassuring, that, while many adults in this country still refuse to have their "liberties" infringed upon by a small piece of fabric, to or don't "buy" that adherence to universal masking could have dramatically slowed the course of this pandemic in our country or that it could, our still-two-year-old (who wears his own mask faithfully for close to nine hours a day without fighting nor complaining) just sees it as an obvious part and or normal life at this time, and that he "gets it." He's not sad or upset about it in the least. It's like putting on a sweater to go outside.
I can't wait for the day when Niall will be able to see his friends' and teachers' smiles-- and not just their eyes. Everything suggests that this time is still a long way off for those of us in this country, despite our current vaccination efforts. However, I'm trying to be more objective and positive and just accept the "state of things." I know children process their world in their play, and while this "art" seemed very jarring for me to see, it just represented him "re-creating" the world around him, one that he actually finds very loving, reassuring, and safe.
We could all learn a lot from our children (even though this is the same child that, on New Year's Day, ran with scissors, got bumped, and somehow poked a hole in his soft palate, which bled like a murder scene but which thankfully stopped with pressure, which is another story and matter. We parents also obviously still have some wisdom to impart).
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